Following two-straight losses, the Michigan State men's basketball team bounced back on Sunday with an emphatic 73-55 win over Rutgers.

The Spartans improved to 10-7 overall on the 2023-2024 campaign, and 2-4 in Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, dropped to 9-7 and 1-4 in the conference.

A 19-0 run in the second half and a strong defensive effort were the catalysts in Michigan State's victory.

However, head coach Tom Izzo, his son Steven Izzo, and the rest of the Michigan State players and fans will all remember this game for a different reason: Steven Izzo scored the first official points of his college career on Sunday.

In what were ultimately MSU's final points of the night, the graduate senior guard drove to the basket, was fouled by Rutger's Austin Williams, threw the ball up, and watched it roll around the rim and eventually through the hoop.

It was the younger Izzo's first made basket in 43 career games, and his teammates — along with the Breslin Center crowd — went wild.

Tom Izzo apologized to the media for being slightly later than usual in his arrival to the postgame press conference, but it was for a good reason.

"I did something I haven't done for a while, I had a chance to celebrate with my kid," Tom Izzo said about Steven Izzo. "I missed out on 22 years (of spending a normal amount of father/son time), so I took an extra moment to do that."

Of course, it meant a great deal to see his son score a basket. However, what Tom Izzo will always remember are the reactions from his players and the fans.

"What I was most excited about wasn't (Steven)," Tom Izzo said. "I was most excited that our players and our fans cared so much about him that they made that more special for me. And it was something I'll never forget."

The elder Izzo admitted that he was a little uneasy because he knew that Steven was likely to put up a shot, with everybody in the building encouraging him to do so. But he also knows that Steven has earned his opportunity as a walk-on for the past five years.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie to you, I was a little nervous," Tom Izzo said. "Because I see that look in (Steven's) eye, and then I hear my players yelling, 'shoot it,' and I don't even think he checked in yet. OK, that's how much they want him to score a bucket. And I look down at them and they just laugh at me now because they know, one time with a minute left, he's gonna do what he wants to do. And he probably deserves that for all the times I wasn't able to do things with him (as a child).

"It was actually a hell of a move. He spins, threw it up there," Tom Izzo continued. "A.J. (Hoggard) picked him up, threw him to Tyson (Walker) — I think they thought he was the ball. It was pretty cool."

With his teammates all huddling around Steven Izzo and celebrating after the basket with big smiles on their faces, and The Izzone and the rest of the fans at the Breslin Center cheering loudly, it was a spectacular moment.

Tom Izzo, getting emotional in his press conference, noted that he was able to live vicariously through his son on Sunday.

"The way the place went crazy for him, all I could think about is, I've got like 35 guys down from my old Northern Michigan teams, and I often think when I see them out there, I would have gave my right and left arm just to run through the tunnel (at a place like MSU)," Tom Izzo said. "I never got a chance to do that. But sometimes you get to live your own dreams through somebody else. And on this day, (Steven) was so damn excited. It's actually his fifth year. He graduated in three and he's going to finish his master's in two. And it's his fifth year, and I didn't know if (him scoring) would ever happen because I didn't know if I'd be able to get him in (a game) again."

To the media members present, it was evident how proud Tom Izzo was of his boy. It is a story that will live on forever in his family. And when Steven Izzo made that basket, Tom Izzo thinks it may have inspired many others as well.

"It'll just be something that his kids' kids will look at," Tom Izzo said about Steven Izzo's bucket. "And I bet you there's a lot of people in the stands today that are gonna say, 'Hey, my son. Hey, my grandson. Hey, my great grandson (can do this)' ... I think they'll all have something to kind of shoot for it. And that's kind of what life's all about. So, it was great."

Following the game, on a video posted to X by MSU Basketball's official account, a passionate Steven Izzo described how he felt after his first basket:

"That bucket means a lot to me because I've been here five years, and really been here longer because my whole life I've been a Spartan as a fan," Steven Izzo said. "Seeing that video, it's emotional because it's what I've dreamed of my entire life. I'm so grateful I got to experience it with my teammates. I'm forever grateful that they welcomed me in five years ago and took me in and I get to experience an awesome day job with them."

As for the game itself, the Spartans struggled a bit offensively in the first half and took a six-point lead into halftime. Rutgers started the second half on a run of its own before the Spartans took over on the aforementioned 19-0 run.

"As far as the game goes, I was disappointed in the first half," Tom Izzo admitted. "I was disappointed by the way we were offensively. Defensively, we were very good. Defensively, we did a lot of great things. We made some crazy turnovers on those layups again."

Tom Izzo gave credit to Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell, and praised several of his players for stepping up — especially when Michigan State's leading scorer, Tyson Walker, was struggling with his shot early on.

The head coach knows that his players have to be focused mentally to make the plays physically.

"When the head dies, the body follows," Izzo said. "When the head excels, the body usually follows."

In addition to Steven Izzo scoring for the first time in his career, sophomore forward/center Jaxon Kohler — who missed the first 14 games of the season following foot surgery — scored his first basket of the season. However, it was Kohler's hustle and effort that drew Izzo's attention.

At one point in the second half, Kohler sprinted down the court and dove after a loose ball. It ultimately went out of bounds, but that is exactly what Izzo loves to see.

"I'm excited to have Jaxon back," Tom Izzo said about Kohler. "The problem is is trying to work him back in there now after nine weeks off. But the more tools you have in the box, I guess the better chance you have, because who knows what'll happen this week, next week, the week after."

In addition to Kohler, Izzo was pleased with fellow sophomore big man Carson Cooper's effort on Sunday. He mentioned that Kohler, Cooper and senior Mady Sissoko all bring different "dimensions" to the center spot.

"Effort is a skill nowadays," Tom Izzo said. "And ... we do not look at that enough. And so, even though I was pleased with some guys, those effort-related things, especially the things that Carson (Cooper) did today, make it special."

After a closely-contested first half, the head coach said that the 19-0 run in the second half, of course, helped seal the victory for the Spartans. More specifically, though, he noted the defense, crucial rebounds by Cooper (he had five total), adjustments made by the coaching staff at halftime, and better ball movement in the second half all contributed to the win as well. He praised senior point guard A.J. Hoggard for that better ball movement in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Additionally, Izzo is thrilled with how graduate senior forward Malik Hall has bounced back over the past two games following a zero-point, zero-rebound effort in a loss to Northwestern last week.

"He's been a lot better," Tom Izzo said about Hall. "I mean, he looks so much more aggressive ... he was the one guy in the first half that was aggressive. And he made a couple man moves at the end. And, you know, it's funny because I hardly even mentioned him, and he was the best player on the floor today for us. But (why) I think I hardly mentioned him (is because) I kind of expect that out of him. And ... if he could get consistent, it changes our team."

While the elder Izzo was pleased with his team's performance on Sunday afternoon, he didn't mince words about how the Spartans have performed this season. He didn't hide the fact that Michigan State still has a lot of improvring to do.

But the head coach does feel like his team can go on a run. He is ready to put in the work to do so, and he believes his players are ready to do the same.

"One thing I do talk about, I've done this a lot, I call it the 'white elephant in the room,'" Izzo said. "I mean, everybody knows our backs are against the wall a little bit. Everybody knows when we were missing all those shots at the beginning of the year ... I was getting phone calls from everybody in America, e-mails. You know (they said), 'Well, don't talk to your team too much, then they'll get nervous. Or, 'talk to your team more,' and all those things are ... I deal with the 'white elephant in the room.'

"I walk in there and say, 'We're not shooting very good from the free-throw line.' And I say it with (different) language than that. 'We're not shooting very good from the three-point line. We better get our tails in there and work on it harder.' I don't hide behind, 'Oh, it'll be OK, we'll make them.' Well, I didn't hide behind this either.

"I mean, we all know our backs are against the wall," continued Izzo. "But in my career, my back's been against the wall more than a couple of times. And sometimes you really find out about people when your backs are against the wall. And for me, it just means I'm going to work harder. I'm going to spend more time. I'm going to grind it more.

"And I think for the (players), they learned today, we weren't very good offensively," continued Izzo. "We were stagnant. We won a game defensively. We made that run. It was a 19 to (zero) run. It really was our defense, not our offense. So, I think that bodes volumes for everything. And I thought the crowd really helped us in that stretch. I mean, I can't tell you what those things mean, especially to me."

The message is clear from Michigan State's head man: he will continue to tell his team what they need to improve on.

"I just tell it like it is," Tom Izzo said. "I tell them what I think we did wrong."

While he noted the Spartans can still play better, Tom Izzo praised his team's defense multiple times.

Overall, Tom Izzo was happy with how his team played, but he is aware that the Spartans are still searching for consistency.

"So, a lot of work to do," Tom Izzo said. "We're still not as consistent. But to win a game when our two best shooters didn't shoot it real well, I think speaks volumes for us, too, that we won it the old-fashioned way.

"We defended against a very good rebounding team. We're plus-seven on the boards, 19 assists on 25 baskets. We only had two turnovers in the second half. A lot of things that you hoped would happen, happened. And for that, I'm grateful."

Tom Izzo also mentioned that his players are "good guys that care about each other," but that he "needs guys that will confront each other."

The belief in his team is still strong, and Michigan State has a chance to turn things around moving forward.

"I do think that this team has enough 'it,' that if we can continually grow a little bit here, and get some confidence, win some games, that we might just win more than some people thought," Tom Izzo said.

Izzo also mentioned that he was going to celebrate the win over Rutgers and cheer on the Detroit Lions and Green Back Packers in the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

Michigan State will be back in the Breslin Center on Thursday versus Minnesota. That game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will broadcast on FS1.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.

For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and consider subscribing.